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* EDIT: Up-to-date information is available in Yek's Guide to the Fractal Audio Amplifier Models *
Cameron CCV: based on Cameron CCV (duh)
The CCV is a 100 watts, two-channel head with EL34 power tubes, a single input and MIDI-support. Called by its controversial creator: “one pissed off amp". We talked about Mark Cameron in the Cameron Atomica edition.
As with the Atomica, the model of channel 1 doesn’t really move me. But (the model of) channel 2: oh yeah baby!
It’s nasty. It smolders, waiting to explode. It’s the amp you would select if you were the guitar player who’s tied to a car in Mad Max: Fury Road. If it was a car engine, it would be too hot to touch. It’s in-your-face aggressiveness in musical form. It’s Cameron Atomica's nephew who met wrong friends and succumbed to dealing drugs. It makes you play AC/DC till your fingers bleed. It’s the amp you would associate with an actual highway to hell. It’s, it’s, it’s … so much fun to play.
Cliff:
And in case you’re wondering: “Hey, doesn’t this sound rather like a JCM 800 with Saturation turned on?” Yes, it does. Cliff:
And indeed, the Cameron's 2nd channel doesn't have that much gain. It just explodes because of the engaged Saturation parameter which attributes to its mean sound. It sounds even nastier (and much brighter) than the Cameron Atomica. A side-product of these cutting tones is that you may not like them as much for single notes high on the neck; they can sound thin. All IMHO of course. Cliff:
Channel 1 has these controls: Punch (= Resonance / Depth), Presence, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble and Gain, and a lot of 3-way switches:
- Voicing: affects resonance.
- Dark: affects presence.
- Gain Style: adjusts “Jose Master” gain/clipping.
- Bright: controls treble and therefore gain (less noticeable at higher gain settings).
Channel 2 has these controls: Solo Master, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, two Gain controls (the model has a single Drive control) and these 3-way switches:
- 2x Gain Style.
- 2x Bright.
- Drive.
According to the manual the CCV has a lot of mids already so don’t hesitate to turn Middle down.
Note that the Gain (model: Drive) taper control is peculiar. It goes from 0 to 100 at the very start, then hardly changes for the remainder. Cliff:
So that’s a lot of knobs and switches! Cliff:
The manual says this about the two Gain controls on channel 2:
It’s an amp with a Master Volume on both channels. This means that the amp’s distortion is created in particular by the preamp tubes, not the power amp. The Master Volume, which works in the power amp section, is still very important to the tone and feel. You have to decide for yourself what setting in the model works for you best. The default setting is a good point to start of course.
Fractal Audio provides no less than 6 models of the CCV.
Models 1A and 1B capture channel 1. I assume that the difference between these two models is the Gain Style switch position.
Models 2A-to-2D capture channel 2 with the following switch settings:
2A: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 left, Gain Style left.
2B: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 right, Gain Style left.
2C: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 left, Gain Style right.
2D: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 right, Gain Style right.
Be careful! The output levels of the various models varies a lot.
This cab head is often used with 4x12 cabinets with G12H speakers. You’ll find the list of stock G12H cabs here. Alternatively you can use the EVH stock cabs with these amp models (try stock cab #124).
Videos:
Cameron CCV: based on Cameron CCV (duh)
The CCV is a 100 watts, two-channel head with EL34 power tubes, a single input and MIDI-support. Called by its controversial creator: “one pissed off amp". We talked about Mark Cameron in the Cameron Atomica edition.
As with the Atomica, the model of channel 1 doesn’t really move me. But (the model of) channel 2: oh yeah baby!
It’s nasty. It smolders, waiting to explode. It’s the amp you would select if you were the guitar player who’s tied to a car in Mad Max: Fury Road. If it was a car engine, it would be too hot to touch. It’s in-your-face aggressiveness in musical form. It’s Cameron Atomica's nephew who met wrong friends and succumbed to dealing drugs. It makes you play AC/DC till your fingers bleed. It’s the amp you would associate with an actual highway to hell. It’s, it’s, it’s … so much fun to play.
Cliff:
"It's a bit of a quirky amp and kind of a one-trick pony but, man, what a trick."
And in case you’re wondering: “Hey, doesn’t this sound rather like a JCM 800 with Saturation turned on?” Yes, it does. Cliff:
"It's actually not a very high gain amp. The topology is very similar to a JCM800."
And indeed, the Cameron's 2nd channel doesn't have that much gain. It just explodes because of the engaged Saturation parameter which attributes to its mean sound. It sounds even nastier (and much brighter) than the Cameron Atomica. A side-product of these cutting tones is that you may not like them as much for single notes high on the neck; they can sound thin. All IMHO of course. Cliff:
“The key to the CCV sound is the Sat Switch."
Channel 1 has these controls: Punch (= Resonance / Depth), Presence, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble and Gain, and a lot of 3-way switches:
- Voicing: affects resonance.
- Dark: affects presence.
- Gain Style: adjusts “Jose Master” gain/clipping.
- Bright: controls treble and therefore gain (less noticeable at higher gain settings).
Channel 2 has these controls: Solo Master, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, two Gain controls (the model has a single Drive control) and these 3-way switches:
- 2x Gain Style.
- 2x Bright.
- Drive.
According to the manual the CCV has a lot of mids already so don’t hesitate to turn Middle down.
Note that the Gain (model: Drive) taper control is peculiar. It goes from 0 to 100 at the very start, then hardly changes for the remainder. Cliff:
"Our reference amp has a linear taper pot so the behavior is very abrupt. The model matches the amp extremely accurately."
So that’s a lot of knobs and switches! Cliff:
“The amp has a dozen switches and, frankly, there isn't a lot of difference between some of the settings. The Drive switch sounds virtually identical whether left or right. I don't like it in the middle."
"The amp was modeled with the Voicing switch in the middle position.”
“The "Dark" switch is the Negative feedback control. Set Negative Feedback to 3.6 to reproduce the switch in the middle position. Set it to 9.8 to reproduce the switch in the right position. 5.0 for left position (default).”
“Bright-1 switch selects the Bright capacitor which you can alter via the Advanced menu.”
The manual says this about the two Gain controls on channel 2:
“Use Gain 1 and Gain 2 together to get a myriad of gain options. Set one high, one low, set one switch to the left, one to the right, both on, both off, etc. Remember that the higher the knob is turned up, the less noticeable the switches become. Keep this in mind when you set the amp for the most gain. When adding gain (via the gain/clipping switches above the masters), turn back the gain pots to get a more noticeable effect from the gain switches (for better cut and more articulation). You can roll them back to noon and the amp will still have a lot of gain. There is no right or wrong way to set these knobs or switches. If it sounds good, it is good. Have fun and experiment!!”
It’s an amp with a Master Volume on both channels. This means that the amp’s distortion is created in particular by the preamp tubes, not the power amp. The Master Volume, which works in the power amp section, is still very important to the tone and feel. You have to decide for yourself what setting in the model works for you best. The default setting is a good point to start of course.
Fractal Audio provides no less than 6 models of the CCV.
Models 1A and 1B capture channel 1. I assume that the difference between these two models is the Gain Style switch position.
Models 2A-to-2D capture channel 2 with the following switch settings:
2A: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 left, Gain Style left.
2B: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 right, Gain Style left.
2C: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 left, Gain Style right.
2D: Bright-1 left, Bright-2 right, Gain Style right.
Be careful! The output levels of the various models varies a lot.
This cab head is often used with 4x12 cabinets with G12H speakers. You’ll find the list of stock G12H cabs here. Alternatively you can use the EVH stock cabs with these amp models (try stock cab #124).
Videos:
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